Cell encapsulation has developed into an integral part of droplet microfluidic research, with various groups demonstrating technologies to improve the encapsulation process. However, many challenges still need to be overcome for microfluidic technology to become a truly viable platform for the biomedical field.
FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 are diagrams showing a variety of cell encapsulation processes that have been developed on microfluidic systems. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a process for controlled encapsulation of single-cells into monodisperse picoliter drops. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a process for overcoming Poisson encapsulation challenges. Drawbacks of conventional systems include the concentration dependency of encapsulation efficiency, temporariness of overcoming Poisson challenges and an assumption of a concentration of 1×106 cells per ml.
In conventional continuous and on-demand droplet generation schemes the entire volume of the dispersed phase is made into droplets in a sequential manner. This results in high percentages of empty droplets as compared to cell-encapsulating droplets over a large volume.